Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Why did Vice President Sara Duterte act so belligerent during the budget hearing of the Senate? 

Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin tried to answer this question ahead of the Vice President's expected appearance next week in another budget hearing, this time at the House of Representatives. 

What made headlines from Vice President Duterte's participation in the Senate proceedings earlier this week was her heated exchange with Senator Risa Hontiveros on the funding for the former's book about friendship. 

“Kasi ang deliberasyon eh pondo ng gobyerno. Saan napupunta ang buwis ng bayan? (Because the deliberation was about government funds. Where do people’s taxes go?)" noted Garin, a vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations. 

Garin, a former Department of Health (DOH) secretary, said the Vice President could've easily justified the existence of her book by relating it to mental health. However, she chose not to. 

"We can always answer, 'Oh merong libro, kailangan iyan (There is a book, we need this) because it is teaching children morals and values, and friendship is actually part of mental health,” Garin said. 

“Siguro may mga bumulong, may mga nang-intriga kaya tuloy ang sagot ni VP Sara is parang pinersonal nIya. Parang kapareho kasi yan dun sa [rumors na] pinapa-impeach ka pagdating dito sa Kongreso, syempre parang off na kaagad. preconditioned yung mind nya probably na yung mga kaharap niya ay masasamang tao kasi may nagsulsol,” the Iloilo solon theorized. 

(Maybe someone whispered in her ear, someone is creating intrigues, that why VP Sara's answers were somewhat personal. It's the same with the rumors that she's going to be impeached in Congress, of course this was off for her. Her mind was probably preconditioned that she was speaking with bad people because of these flamebaiters.) 

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https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/16/ovp-budget-hearing-rescheduled

Garin said that in budget hearings, there will always be legislators who will ask about all the priority programs of a department or an office because the funds in question are public in nature. 

"In a budget briefing, any question can be thrown as long as it’s still related to the budget because when we deal about the budget, we’re talking about where taxpayer’s money are going. 

“That's why as government officials, it's really very important for us to be wary about the solsuleras and mga marites (flamebaiters and gossipers) because…they will also have their own vested interest…but you know in in budget briefings, talagang you just ask about each program,” she explained. 

The production and distribution of Vice President Duterte's book cost P10 million. 

The Office of the Vice President's (OVP) budget is set to be deliberated by the appropriations panel on Aug. 27.